This may be slightly off-topic but a follow-up to last week's discussion. It does involve application we use often and possibilities with current technology.
With problems of the past reemerging in our future, the issue of space will become ever more important. Where as in the past overcrowding in catacombs led to the creation of cemeteries the lack of space is leading to new possibilities in mortuary practices. As we are in an ever-evolving world it seems that technology may play a role in providing new opportunities in burial spaces. A fairly recent article in the Los Angeles Times discussed how “MyDeathSpace.com” has become a gallery to provide memorials for deceased myspace members. While many of the pages are dedicated to youths Meghan Bar says, “their fates have been sealed, but their spirits remain alive -- frozen in time, for all to see”. Cyberspace places these memories on a public domain for all to see. The privacy of visiting a cemetery will be replaced by an open source memorial for all to see and experience if they are so inclined.
Whether this is a positive or negative aspect this may be the next step in cemetery evolution. As our world population grows and land is quickly becoming a scarce commodity going digital may be the next step towards preserving memories of loved ones. According to anthropologist Helaine Silverman, “the place of death (the location of a cemetery) in a society (the space of life and death) is mobile when seen in long term”. With cd’s and other technological breakthroughs of the past quickly loosing their importance in a digital world, providing a permanent resting place for deceased online that can be accessed by a few clicks of a mouse suddenly does not seem so far fetched. It may be the logical progression to how we view the departed in our modern age.
While having a "MyDeathSpace.com" account seems to be the next "logical progression" of how our culture embraces mortality and remembrance, this does not address what happens to the body of the deceased. If a cemetery is defined as a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried, then a website dedicated to a person's memory is not a virtual cemetery. If we buy into the linked article's definition of a cemetery, then a photo album with pictures of the deceased that you can keep in a your living room bookshelf is a cemetery. This "virtual cemetery" is really more about creating a repository of memory - an online memorial. While we are already using the internet to establish an online presence, it is the last thing I'd think of as a place of eternal rest.
ReplyDelete